Software Developer apprentice case study: meet Gabriel
Apprentice
| Reading time - 2 mins
Gabriel, or Gabe for short, completed his Software Development apprenticeship as a junior software developer. His dedication to improving his knowledge, easy ability to work with his team and eagerness to go the extra mile led Gabe to winning the Top Software Developer apprentice of the year during one of Intequal’s apprenticeship celebrations.
Here we discuss Gabe’s apprenticeship experience with him and his employer, Rod Plummer at Shoothill, a software engineering company with a focus on business intelligence.
Here we discuss Gabe’s apprenticeship experience with him and his employer, Rod Plummer at Shoothill, a software engineering company with a focus on business intelligence.
Why did Gabe choose to do a software development apprenticeship?
After leaving school, Gabe studied maths, computer science and electronics at sixth form college but felt that the modules weren’t relevant to the areas he was interested in. As he had already taught himself to code, he decided to drop out of college and look for an opportunity to apply his knowledge in a practical sense. Gabe said, “I wanted to work on real-life scenarios as I learn better through doing activities.”
How was Gabe able to use his apprenticeship to make an impact at work?
Rod explains, “Gabe joined Shoothill as a junior software developer apprentice, and despite only being 17 years old, he showed immense skill, ability and above all, a willingness for hard work.
“Shoothill’s software development team work on many projects at the same time, across a myriad of businesses, industries and countries, either writing new code, or supporting, improving and maintaining our customers’ business systems.
“From day one, we threw Gabe ‘in the deep end’, working on projects with the rest of the development team. In our eyes he joined us as a programmer and has been an integral member of our staff, working on over 20 different software development projects.”
“Shoothill’s software development team work on many projects at the same time, across a myriad of businesses, industries and countries, either writing new code, or supporting, improving and maintaining our customers’ business systems.
“From day one, we threw Gabe ‘in the deep end’, working on projects with the rest of the development team. In our eyes he joined us as a programmer and has been an integral member of our staff, working on over 20 different software development projects.”
How was Gabe supported throughout his apprenticeship?
Gabe told us, “My Pathway Planner and Trainer at Intequal were brilliant, helping me with my studies and identifying what I needed to improve on. The online courses covered the same topics I am working with and use the same Microsoft technologies I do at work. Learning the theory helped with the practical tasks I was given by project managers. I often need to swap between projects quickly within my daily tasks, so I must be able to adapt. My role involved pretty much coding and database work – thinking about how data is stored and structured, creating the data structures on a database working with the code to make that data capture flow happen for the client.”
What’s Gabe’s advice for his 16-year-old self, or other aspiring apprentices?
Gabe believes that apprenticeships are a good way to go to get real working experience while learning theory. His learning style means he learns more quickly if he can get started working on a project, which provides valuable experience for employers too. He’s now looking to take his apprenticeship studies to degree level and is continuing to gain more experience by using his new programming skills to problem solve on customer projects at work.
Thinking about starting a Software Development apprenticeship?
If you're an aspiring software developer and thinking about applying for your first job, or want to progress your tech career on a higher apprenticeship, then Intequal can help. Find out more: